“I went to David Dein’s house in Hertfordshire to talk to him and Arsene [Wenger] about a new contract and was offered a basic sum and then a sum for each game played.
“What I really wanted was a one-year deal with a guaranteed salary. I was shocked. In fact, I felt embarrassed for the club.
“Arsenal were not paying what Chelsea were at that time, as shown when Ashley Cole moved there, but what I was being offered was around half of what I was getting ten years earlier.